Step 4: All Together Now

Step 5: Headboard

The head board is the last step. Mark out and drill five or six holes in the head end of the bed frame (typically the end that looks the worst, as it...

The intent of this bed project was to make a bed frame with basic tools as quickly and cheaply as possible. Secondarily, I wanted to be able to break it down so it would be easy to move. I have moved a lot over the last couple of years, and have always dealt with a mattress on the floor or on a boxspring on the floor. It was time for a proper resting place that got me off the dirty floor without costing me a fortune.

This bed cost me about $22. The only thing I bought new was the 2" x 8"s. I got all the slats (the crosspieces that support the mattress), the bolts, the pegs that hold the headboard together, and the mattress for free. Scrounge on!

If you add fasteners to the mix, expect to spend another fifteen bucks or so.

I built this bed in about three weeks(I spent only a little bit of time per day). It turned out very nice. Here in the pacific northwest all you can find is douglas fir, so I built my bed from that. It worked fine, but there was some splitting when the 1/2" lag bolts were screwed directly into the end grain of the long frame pieces. I also made these improvements:

- 4"x4"x1' posts for legs(attached to corner braces with bolts and brackets)

- Sanded all over with an orbital sander

- 1 coat of lacquer(I let the bed dry and air out on my back porch, the smell is completely gone)

- No headboard(my drill couldn't hold a large enough drill bit for the dowels)

My son and I just completed his California King based on this Instructable -- thanks! We made some modifications, of course. And it took longer and cost a bit more ($150 all-in) than I estimated, but it turned out fantastic. I've attached some images showing various stages

The main differences are: a) the size b) use of 8 2x6 slats (and we might add 2-4 more) c) 4x6x20 posts for legs (it's *really* high off the ground, we may cut them down a few inches) d) 2 L brackets on each leg to augment the 4 lag screws e) a single coat of stain to make the pine look slightly different f) no headboard

Having a 3/4" socket wrench for the large lag bolts, and a 1/2" socket bit for the small lag bolts, was really helpful. I used a 5/8" spade bit to make the recesses for the small lag bots, and a 1" spade bit for the recesses for the large lag bolts.

We had to carry the frame upstairs and do the leg and slat installation in the bedroom. It would be *really* unwieldy to have had the legs mounted while maneuvering it through the house, esp. up the stairs.

BTW, I don't think a center leg is required given all the slats.

Hope people find this useful, and thanks again to wholman for starting it off!

Hi, I'm from Spain, and I have got a problem with the lag bolts, in concrete is the measure, I guess that the measure in your materials are in inches, my question is this: Can you or someone else tell me what measurements have in milimetres the lag bolts? I've looked in internet with a conversor of longitude, as I gave the converter was 25mm, so here it is 2.5cm

Mine ROCKS! Only thing I did differently is not use the 1/2" x 4" bolts, those things are huge! So I just used the 1/4"s. I love the natural bolt and wood look was really cool, but it wasn't in my design scheme. So, I ended up really globbing on a black walnut color stain, over the bolts and all.

I am not done with my own headboard, but when I do - I'll get a picture up.

Thank you soooo much for this, super fun and my introduction to using lag bolts has opened up a whole new world!

I liked this so much I made a slightly modified version. I used 2x12s instead of 2x8s and left off the headboard. I also made the legs a little longer to accomodate more dust bunnies. Thanks for the inspiration. http://bit.ly/erQo9l

Like the instructable some good guidance. not done much woodwork before am i reading this right, 2" thick timber? I'm in the uk and it doesnt seem to be standard thickness here can any make any suggestions/correction to my thoughts!. thanks :)

In the USA we call it a 2 x 4, etc.; but a 2 x 4 is actually 1 5/8 x 3 1/2. The 2 x 4 refers to dimensions when it was rough cut and before finish planing. I was in Germany at a home center. They had lumber dimensioned in metric. I do not remember the exact size, but there was something close to what I would call a 2 x 4.

I was hoping you would design a queen size with maybe no legs, but with two or one storage drawers on each side? I love the small headboard feature, that is exactly what I want, but if I am going to make a headboard, why not the frame as well..... also, I am a girl, not that smart and no money, but I am determinded to build what I want to have. Please do some more designing? You seem to be so great at it.

Wholman: I like your project; very creative and very well illustrated. However, I have a few comments: The header and the head frame member should have been pre-assembled so that they might be sanded and smoothed evenly. The outside corners should be rounded to avoid a blunt edge when making the bed. Judging from the rough cuts in the photos, looks like you could use a sharper saw blade. The side rails need to have radius-ed edges and smoothed to make it easier and "friendlier" to make the bed. Sheets will snag on any rough edge as you already know. In step 3 you mentioned a 3 inch sheet rock screw. They don't come in those lengths but I would recommend a 3 inch Deck Screw and pre-drill all screw holes. The lag screws have hex heads so you want to "counter bore" and not counter sink the holes. I also would opt to make the legs taller since the bed is too close to the floor. When you sit on a mattress, your feet should just barely touch the floor. Bongodrummer has a very good point. Most modern mattresses have those coil springs in them so you would want to lay 1/4 inch "perf board" over the slats to distribute the weight evenly. All screws should be round head and smooth with no burrs to snag the material. The counter bored lag screw holes should be covered with those plastic button caps that are available at the local hardware store. I give your project an A- for creativity, planning, assembly and documenting. The only drawback is that its a little "rough" and needs to be more "user friendly". Thanks for a great project.

Thanks for the comments -- feel like I need to address a few points, though. For one thing, a couple people have mentioned rounding over the edges of the wood on the bed frame. I guess the photos don't really show it that well, but all dimensional lumber you buy at the store has a roundover already. The side rail are smooth and snag-free with a 1/4" radius, no extra work required.

As to the height of the bed, that's all on purpose. I don't like those tall beds that always make me feel like I'm about to roll off. Guess that comes from so many years of sleeping on the floor.

They do make three inch, coarse-thread, phillips-head, standard black ssheetrock screws, got them from the Ace down the street. Maybe I forgot to mention, but I pre-drilled everything of course.

The triangular braces are held with 1/4" lag bolts, three to a side, that you can see on the pictures of the finished project. The drywall screw was just to pin the brace to the side of the bed frame temporarily to hold it so I could drill pilot holes and put in the lags. So, pop a little short drywall screw through one of the corners of the triangular corner brace into the backside of the bed frame to hold it in place while you do the lags.